The New Jersey Titans won their 5th in a row in emphatic fashion, scoring six unanswered goals to defeat the Elmira Aviators 7-1 in the first matchup between the franchises on Friday night at the LECOM Event Center in Elmira, New York.
The Titans got on the board eight and a half minutes into the opening frame when Alex Papaspyropoulos slotted a puck five hole on a breakaway. Shawn Leary and Owen Leahy picked up the helpers on Papaspyropoulos’s 4th of the year. Elmira was able to answer on the power play a few minutes later, but New Jersey responded with a power play marker of their own in the final two minutes of the period when Owen Leahy poked home a rebound off a Jack Hillier shot for his 4th of the year, sending the Titans into the first intermission leading 2-1.
Going onto the power play just over a minute into the second, Ryan Friedman continued his torrid scoring pace with his 6th of the season, assisted by fellow Ryans Novo and Shaw. Novo would score just as another power play ended halfway through the period, chasing Elmira’s starting goaltender to the bench. Friedman then scored his second of the game under four minutes later, one timing a Ryan Shaw rebound home for his 7th of the year and putting the Titans up 5-1 through 40 minutes of play.
Logan Renkowski, returning to the lineup after missing the previous 3 games, made his presence known with some deft stick handling for his 4th of the year, assisted by Jack Hillier. Nik Doumas collected his 2nd of the year in only his 4th NAHL game with a shot that changed directions in front to provide the exclamation mark and send the Titans to their 5th straight victory.
With the win, New Jersey moves ahead of Elmira for sole possession of 4th place in the division, trailing Rochester by a point. The Titans will wrap up their first trip to New York’s Southern Tier with another game against the Aviators tomorrow, October 19th at 7:00pm. The game can be seen on NAtv, and Titans fans should select the “Away” feed.